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Social Security Parallels Detroit's Pension Heist

In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. —Voltaire (1764)

Politicians transfer money from productive people to favored special interest groups.

Social Security Parallels Detroit's Pension Heist

Many politicians and complicit bureaucrats have raided Detroit's pension fund for their political gain. The rulers bestowed municipal employees bonuses, hardship payments, perceived investment windfalls and other convenient political artifices. Called the “13th check,” the money was often dispensed just before Christmas, and thought of as a "good' thing to do. One bureaucrat explains, “People were having a hard time, living hand-to-mouth, and we thought we would give them some extra.”

Sadly Detroit's pension fund is now bankrupt. Horrifically, some people will be financially hurt by past political malfeasance. Currently, those effected by the bankruptcy are waiting for a bankruptcy judge to decide if the promised pensions will be paid along with the fate of the bond holders and other investors.

The lesson in governance is very important:

Whenever there is a pot of money, politicians will seek to raid the money for immediate perceived needs and political advantage. Certainly, this is not solely a problem specific to Detroit. Sadly, this is a politician problem, perpetrated by Republicans, Democrats and Independents.

Social Security parallels the Detroit Pension Heist:

Social Security has also been raided for other government programs – i.e. schools, roads, welfare, and a variety of other government functions. Unlike Detroit’s nefarious raids, Social Security was intentionally set up to be raided. It's Congress' dirty secret.

Social Security is a pay-as-you-go system. The 15.3% tax (employer and employee pay equally) goes straight to the federal government. The government takes the money and pays for everything from bombing Libya to paying politicians salaries.

Now, on to the fictional side. Government issues a bond promising to repay the alleged “Social Security Trust Fund.” Guess who gets to repay the government bond, which will pay for future Social Security benefits? Tomorrow's workers. Poof, the money is gone and our grandchildren are deeper in debt.

Again, the governance lesson is very important:

Whenever there is a pot of money, politicians will raid the money for immediate, perceived needs and political advantage. Certainly, this is not specifically a problem in Detroit. This is a politician problem - perpetrated by Republicans, Democrats and Independents.

The Congressional Budget Office issued another dire warning last week on the ominous state of the Social Security, the social retirement and disability programs created by Congress in 1935 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal."

You know what they say you should do when you’re stuck in a hole: stop digging. This is advice that could well have been heeded by ObamaCare Architect Jonathan Gruber, whose repeated comments about the stupidity of the American public and the need to deceive them in order to pass ObamaCare continue to make headlines, though not the good kind like you want.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. - The First Amendment of the Constitution

I am an Chinese immigrant who come to America to seek freedom from the Communist China. I was born right before China’s Cultural Revolution and grew up in Chengdu, Capitol of Sichuan province, China. As you know, in China there is only one party that is truly in power: The Communist Party. The government, which is the Communist Party, controls everything: Factories, schools, the press, hospitals, land, and universities. Growing up there, I never heard of such a thing as a “private company." There were no choices of any sort. We were all poor. We had no gas or stove, no TV, no phones, no refrigerators, and no washing machines. In the cities, electricity was rationed. In the countryside, there was no electricity.

Personal Freedom and Prosperity 110: The Rule of Law
A government with moral and legal authority promulgates written rules and universally, impartially and uniformly enforces the rules, which provides a predictable and stable legal order on which to base economic and personal decisions. The law prevails, not the proclamation or arbitrary decision of a ruler, government bureaucrat, the enforcer (e.g., policeman) or judge.

A recent report out of Mesa, Arizona demonstrates the inevitable negative consequences of supposed problem-solving government programs. Audrey Glemba, a 49-year-old triathlon runner, became a medically-retired police officer collecting worker's compensation for an injury she claimed prevented her from working. Taxpayers in her city are now paying her $508 a month, in addition to medical retirement benefits.

A Modest Proposal to Save Children from The War on PovertyThe War on Poverty is fifty years old. Observing the semi-centennial, liberals and conservatives are arguing if the hundreds of programs and the trillions of dollars have actually reduced poverty. Most of the statics and fallacies are merely continuing propaganda for incompetently formulated federal programs – conservative and liberal. What is certain and ingloriously ignored is the millions of children being neglected and destroyed by The War on Poverty.